The present invention relates to a machine and method for the continuous layering of strips of food material, more particularly for the continuous production of lasagne by forming strips of pasta in layers, inserting a filling between the layers and cutting into portions automatically.
Normally, in the production of lasagne, the pasta is extruded, cut into strips of a suitable width, blanched, cut, and placed piece by piece into a tray by hand with a filling of sauce between the pieces. This process has the following disadvantages:
1) The pasta processing line is unduly long and occupies a great deal of space.
2) The process is labour intensive and requires at least five people on the line.
3) The pasta is extremely slippery and difficult to handle.
4) There are losses of pasta as a result of a lack of time for the operator to transport all the pieces of pasta to the tray.
5) There are several moving parts in the machine for transporting and layering the pasta strips, which are prone to break down or wear out.